Two National Football League opportunities later, running back Cedric O’Neal is hoping his power, speed and willingness to put in the time and effort land him a roster spot in the Canadian Football League – with the Ottawa Redblacks.

So far, so good. The 24-year-old out of Valdosta State, who has been with the Philadelphia Eagles and Buffalo Bills, has looked excellent in training camp. Look for him to get some opportunities to carry the football in the Redblacks’ two pre-season games—Thursday at home vs. the Montreal Alouettes and next Thursday in Guelph vs. the Toronto Argos.

“It didn’t work out in Buffalo (in 2017, he was cut near the end of training camp),” he said on Tuesday. I sat out the whole year — I was at home working out and training. I’m blessed to be here. Being on a football field again is a good thing. I’m really not worried about (the NFL right now). My focus and my energy is with the Redblacks.”

Two years ago, O’Neal’s grandmother, Miss Juanita, died – she had Alzheimer’s. It was a big loss, she was a special lady he still always thinks about.

“She was always in my corner,” said O’Neal. “Every day I step onto the field, I have her protective shield over me. There’s not a day goes by where I don’t think about her. She was like a second mom to me. She was a sweet lady. Anybody could walk up and talk to her, she could have a conversation with anybody. She wanted to see everybody do well, she was a walking blessing.

“Every weekend I was at her house, going through her cookies, getting into trouble as a kid. She really didn’t come watch me play football because she didn’t want to see her baby get hit. But she’d pick up the paper and read the articles. She’d be the first person I’d go to see when the game was over. I definitely miss her and I love her.”

In college, O’Neal shattered school records – with 4,115 yards rushing and 49 touchdowns. Now, the kid from Dublin, GA., is hoping to make his mark north of the border.

“There are a few adjustments, but it’s a lot of fun,” he said. “I enjoy coming out here every day and competing. I feel like this is where I belong. I enjoy waking up every day, learning new systems, studying the playbook, reading defences. (These pre-season games), they’re a big deal, they’re evaluating you. You want to show you can play fast, that you enjoy having the game around you.”

LINELL HELPED OFF FIELD

Receiver Linell Bonner III was making a great impression in training camp. On Tuesday, he was helped off the field after a collision during practice. “We’re hoping for the best for him,” said Redblacks coach Rick Campbell. “We’ll see what it is, I’m not going to judge anything yet. Hopefully it’s not as bad as it looked. He’s a good player, he’s made some really tough catches—he had a couple of really impressive catches in the scrimmage the other day. He’s a dynamic guy, fast. I hope he’s all right because he’s a promising player.”

STARTS WITH O LINE

We talk about an elite running back—William Powell—we talk about great receivers including Greg Ellingson, Diontae Spencer and Brad Sinopoli, and we talk about a quarterback—Trevor Harris— capable of being among the Canadian Football League’s best. But former CFL Most Outstanding Lineman SirVincent Rogers said there’s another big factor in play in deciding what kind of success the team will have offensively: “We have everything in place, we have every weapon on offence you could want. I like to put it our shoulders on the O line. As we go, the offence goes. We try to come out and set the tone. We know if we give Trevor time, if we create seams and gaps for Willie P or Mossis (Madu) or whoever the (running) back is … I’d like to think it starts with us.”

JERMAINE HOPING FOR SHOT

Former Redblacks defensive back Jermaine Robinson wanted back in the CFL badly enough to spend about $1,000 to get to a Montreal Alouettes free-agent camp in Atlanta. It paid off with an invite to Montreal’s training camp. Look for him Thursday night when the Als come to Ottawa to play a pre-season game. “I still think there’s something out there left for me,” the 29-year-old told the Montreal Gazette’s Herb Zurkowsky. “I’m still young. I don’t think I’ve reached my potential. I think this year I can finally put it together and become the dominant player I was in 2016. You don’t get this opportunity often. People don’t understand the CFL’s a great game. When you don’t play it, that’s when you realize how amazing it was when you did. It puts everything in perspective. I want it even more than before. You understand the importance of it and the opportunity that you have.” Robinson played 22 games for the Redblacks from 2014-16 before being released and picked up by Hamilton. He was limited to two games in 2015 with a wrist injury.

THE END AROUND

Campbell talked about Thursday’s game vs. the Als and how it could impact roster decisions: “I’m going to meet with the staff to determine how we’re going to split up the playing time. If we have a lot of guys play well and some tough decisions have to be made, that bodes well for the Redblacks … Former Redblacks offensive line coach Bryan Chiu will be doing colour commentary for Montreal Alouettes games this season on TSN 690 … Receiver Richard Mulaney (lower-body injury) has been watching from the sidelines much of camp. “We think he’s a very promising player,” said Campbell. “We think he’s close to getting ready to go, we want to see him out there. He showed enough early that we wanted to keep him around and give him a shot.” … Receiver Brad Sinopoli didn’t practise for the second straight day. Said Campbell. “He’s fine. If we were playing a real game, he’d be good to go. We’ll see how he is, but he’s still a possibility for Thursday.”

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